The Devil's Water: Scenic City Murder Series #1 by Amanda Swafford

than before and she could hear branches break as he pushed through the woods in the darkness. As she continued running, she could hear something else over his screams and pursuit. She could hear vehicles moving along a road, perhaps fifty yards away. “Help!” she screamed as she moved in that direction. “Come back here!” He yelled. Carol could tell he wasn’t more than 30 yards away. She pushed herself even harder to get to the road before he could get to her. She reached the edge of the clearing and saw the road way down below just as he was closing in on her. “I’m right behind you!” he screamed once more. Carol figured he was less than a minute behind her. She was standing on the side of a very high embankment, approximately 40 feet above the highway. Glancing up and down the road she didn’t see a single car but she could hear traffic coming along the twists and turns of the highway. He was almost to her now. “I’m gonna get ya!” he yelled one last time. He was about 20 yards away. Carol took a deep breath and stepped off the edge of the embankment. She felt herself falling. The last thing she saw, before she landed on the asphalt below was a car coming around the bend of a large curve perhaps 300 feet away. “I’m free.” She thought, as her body smacked the pavement.

CHAPTER 20
     
    It was early morning and Tasha Yoder turned over in bed. Semi-awake she heard a banging on the front door. They’ll go away she thought as she nestled in the warm comforter. The banging continued bringing Tasha out of bed with a finger on the trigger of her .38. She walked out of the bedroom and into the foyer. Another bang and Tasha cocked the gun. “Who is it?” Tasha yelled through the door. She opened the door and pointed the gun at whoever was wanting entrance. “Jesus Christ, put that thing down!” yelled Dan Mclutcheon.
    “What is it?” Tasha asked. She lowered her .38. “We got the bastard!” said Mclutcheon, his mouth in a wide smile. Tasha uncocked the gun. “Is he in custody?” she asked, still a little fuzzy from sleep. “Not exactly but we know his hideout. Carol Shipley was found early this morning. She’d jumped off a bank and onto the road.”
    “Is she ok?”
    “Took a hard fall over 40 feet. Compound fractures to both legs, a broken arm but the biggest injury was that she took a very hard lick to the head. She’s in a coma. Hooked up to every machine known to man.”
    “How’d you find the house?”
    “Wasn’t hard really. It’s an older brick home in Apison. Sits out on a bunch of acres. Part of it is wooded. Carol escaped though the woods. She was completely nude. Apparently he kept her that way. Young couple driving by found her.”
    “Who is this son of a bitch?” Tasha asked.
    “Name’s Gary Berndt. Jeff Wilder ran some records. Turns out he was born and mostly raised in Bavaria. He was an only child. Apparently he and his folks had a troubled home life. He moved to the US permanently when he was 18 and became a US citizen. He moved in with his grandmother. She died several years ago. It’s her house that he still lives in. I’ve got Wilder checking around with neighbors seeing what they know.”
    “So I take it that he got the hell out of there after Carol escaped?”
    “Right. But I think he had to hustle. Maybe we can find out more about him from checking out the house.”
    “Put on some clothes and get in my car.”
    Tasha moved away from the front door and headed for the bathroom. There, she put on the same outfit she’d wore the day before. She could hear Mclutcheon in the living room.
    “Hey, turn on the TV if you want.” She said.
    “No, you get your ass out here. Come on. We have to go.”
    Ten minutes later, Clutch sat down in his Volvo and waited for Tasha to do the same. “C’mon. We don’t have time.” He said as he waited for her.
    “Hold the phone.” Tasha said as she sat down across from him. “I’m ready now.” She stated as he turned the